Bogus callers take cash from woman's Sunderland home

Fiona Thompson

A fresh warning has been issued by police over doorstep crime after a woman was targeted by conmen claiming to be carrying out work.

At around 2pm on Monday, two men knocked on the door of a house in Park Terrace in the Southwick area of Sunderland and told the householder they were roofers and that she had a missing tile on her roof.

The men stole cash from the woman's house.

They did not carry out any roofing work.

Officers are carrying out inquiries into the incident and are appealing for witnesses.

Police say the men spoke with a North East accent but it was not local to Sunderland and were in a white van. It's thought they returned to the area the next day.

Bogus callers - people who knock on a door unannounced and claim to be someone they are not with the intention of duping the occupant out of money or stealing - often target elderly and vulnerable people and police want to make sure anyone who has an elderly or vulnerable family member, neighbour or friend reinforces these messages to them.

If in any doubt they should lock them out.

Genuine callers will not mind waiting while their identity is checked or coming back another day.